Sunday the 20th of October saw 18 pairs meet at Stevenage to compete in our County and National Qualifiers Over 55’s pairs competition. It was nice to see some new faces at this competition with teams from our new club ‘Potters Bar’ competing for the first time. The pairs were split into three groups of six pairs which guaranteed everybody got a minimum of five games. Play commenced at 09.30, with eight mats available, with six in use at all times. By the end of the round robin stage we had our eight quarter finalists. These were the top two from each group and the two highest runners-up. With many pairs on nine points, our Competition Secretary double-check his calculations before announcing the line up for the quarter finals. The quarter finals were played on the back mats saving our front four competition mats for the Semifinals and Finals.
Mat Five had the pair of Jan Rogers and Julia Bruce playing Jeff Branch and Dennis Mack, after seven of the eight ends Jan’s pairing were 11 – 2 in front and Jeff and Dennis conceded.
Mat Six and the pairing of Andrew Miles and Alan Hare played Mike Eccleston and Malcolm Warwick, in a close game Andrew’s pairing just held on to win 6 – 5.
Mat Seven had the pair of Alan Spicer and Brian McGiven playing Darren Stanford and Jeanette Gayler. Brian’s pair pulled in front and won with a score of 10 – 5
Our last Quarter final was played on mat Eight. This mat had the pairing of Tony Duke and Trevor Knight playing Gill Howarth and Lisa Miles. In Tony’s first ever outing to Stevenage and the first time playing Mat on Mat, his pair comfortably won 14 – 0 after seven ends.
So we were now all set up for the Semi Finals. Semi-final 1 was played on mat one. We had the pairing of Jan and Julia playing Tony and Trevor. Jan and Julia slowly pulled in the lead and progressed to the final with a score of 7 – 2 after playing seven ends. Semifinal 2 had Alan S and Brian playing Andrew and Alan H on mat 4. In a close game the final end saw our second finalists, Andrew and Alan H win with a score of 7 – 5.
The Third/Fourth place match between Tony and Trevor, and Alan S and Brian, was played on mat three. Alan’s pair won with a score of 8 – 2 after seven ends .
The culmination of the day saw the final between Jan and Julia, and Andrew and Alan H, take place on mat two. In a good match Andrew and Alan took the upper hand they just pulled away and by end six Jan and Julia conceded as Andrew and Alan had the win with a ‘Magnificent’ score of 1 – 11.
Our finalists will be guaranteed a place at the National finals but we would expect to be awarded either three or four places so all four of our Semi finalists could be playing at the nationals in March. Those of you looking to book accommodation for these finals, be aware this year the ESMBA have decided that they will be held at Melton Mowbray, on the Sunday the 09th March and not at Solihull where they have been held previously.
Our next County/National Qualifier competition will be the Pairs on December the 15th. See you all there for another round of our exciting Countywide competitions.